eing that her mission was hopeless, left
the cabin with a balked stagger and a sudden rush, which was
appropriately followed up by the door shutting itself with a terrific
bang, as though it should say, "You might have known as much, goose!
Why did you open me?"

"Laura, dear," said Aileen, "did you hear what the captain said to some
one just now in the cabin, when the door was open?"

"N-no," replied Miss Pritty, faintly.

"I distinctly heard some one ask how fast we were going, but I could not
make out his reply."

"Oh!" exclaimed the other, brightening for a brief moment; "yes, I _did_
hear him. He said we were going six knots. Now I do _not_ understand
what that means."

"Did you mean that?" asked Aileen, turning her eyes languidly on her
friend, while a faint smile flickered on her mouth.

"Mean what?" said Miss Pritty, in evident surprise.

"No, I see you didn't. Well, a knot means, I believe, a nautical mile."

"A notticle mile, Aileen; what is that?"

"A _nau_tical mile; dear me, how stupid you are, Laura!"

"Oh! I understand. But, really, the noise of that screw makes it
difficult to hear distinctly. And, after all, it is no wonder if I _am_
stupid, for what between eating nothing but pickles for six weeks, and
this dreadful--there! Oh! It comes ag--"

Poor Miss Pritty stopped abruptly, and made a desperate effort to think
of home. Aileen, albeit full of sympathy, turned her face to the wall,
and lay with closed eyes.

After a time the latter looked slowly round.

"Are you asleep, Laura?"

Miss Pritty gave a sharp semi-hysterical laugh at the bare idea of such
an impossible condition.

"Well, I was going to say," resumed Aileen, "that we cannot be very far
from land now, and when we do get there--"

"Happy day!" murmured Miss Pritty.

"We intend," continued Aileen, "to go straight home--I--I mean to our
old home, sell everything at once, and go to live in a cottage--quite a
tiny cottage--by the sea somewhere. Now, I want you to come and visit
us the very day we get into our cottage. I know you would like it--
would like being with me, wouldn't you?"

"Like it? I should delight in it of all things."

"I knew you would. Well, I was going to say that it would be such a
kindness to dear papa too, for you know he will naturally be very
low-spirited when we make the change--for it is a great change, Laura,
greater perhaps than you, who have never been very rich, can imagine,
and